All Sting Has To Do Is Act Naturally

November 17, 1985|By Jay Boyar of the Sentinel staff

Forget Dune. Forget The Bride. In fact, forget any movie you've ever seen with Sting in it. The rock star, best known for his work with the Police, is at his best in Bring on the Night because he's doing what he does best, which is being himself.

Bring on the Night is a documentary about his attempt to form a new musical group. Sting, a white British rock musician, creates a group consisting of himself (as guitarist and lead singer) and black American jazz musicians. Omar Hakim is featured on drums, Darryl Jones is on bass, Kenny Kirkland plays the keyboards, Branford Marsalis is the saxophonist and Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis sing background vocals.

What director Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter) helps you see is how social, economic and musical differences separate Sting from the other members of the group. You also see how, to some extent, those differences are overcome.

Even if you're not -- as I am not -- a particular fan of Sting's music, this movie is fascinating for what it reveals about the decades-old enmity between rock and jazz musicians -- as well as other, older enmities. A bonus for Stingophiles is the movie's documentation of the birth of his and Trudie Styler's child, a birth that oddly parallels the creation of the new group.